DeFi

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, represents a shift in the financial sector by leveraging blockchain technology, primarily Ethereum, to eliminate traditional financial intermediaries. It enables various financial applications, from simple transactions to complex contracts, through smart contracts that execute automatically under specific conditions. Key DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges (DEXs), stablecoins, lending platforms, and prediction markets. DeFi offers financial services like loans and interest-earning opportunities without traditional identity verification, relying instead on collateral, usually in cryptocurrency. This innovative sector promises increased accessibility and efficiency but comes with risks, such as market volatility and unregulated projects.


Videos

DEX Aggregator ParaSwap Launches PSP Token Following ENS Airdrop Excitement

On the heels of the ENS token distribution, exchange aggregator ParaSwap has launched its PSP governance token. PSP enables users to stake in liquidity pools in exchange for platform rewards and participate in its newly formed decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) governance. “The Hash” squad discusses the latest continuation of Airdrop season in DeFi land.

CoinDesk placeholder image

Tech

‘I Think We’re Doing This’: Inside One DAO’s $20M Plot to Purchase the US Constitution

What started as 10 internet friends is now an 8,000-strong Discord channel. Is this the new face of participatory democracy?

A rare copy of the U.S. Constitution could end up in the hands of a DAO. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Finance

VCs Back ‘Pawn Shop of the Metaverse’ With $3M Raise

Pawnfi lets customers take out loans against their NFTs while also providing appraisal and liquidation services.

The pawnbrokers' symbol (Bethany Clarke/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Alex Raises $5.8M to Bring DeFi to the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Alex aims to be a one-stop DeFi platform for fixed-rate and fixed-term bitcoin lending and borrowing.

(Moe Zoyari/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Finance

Cream Plunges on News That Hack Compensation Will Inflate Token Supply

The price of CREAM has fallen off two cliffs in less than a month.

CREAM has fallen off not one, but two cliffs in recent weeks. (Messari)

Tech

xDai Wants a Gnosis Merger to Stay Relevant, but Some Tokenholders Are Crying Foul

Project leads see a potentially historic DeFi merger as a way to fend off the competition. Speculators are complaining they’ve been shortchanged.

(Jonny Clow/Unsplash)

Finance

‘Curve Wars’ Heat Up: Emergency DAO Invoked After ‘Clear Governance Attack’

In a governance first, Curve has halted rewards emissions to a pool after it deemed a protocol’s behavior a “clear governance attack.”

(Hasan Almasi/Unsplash)

Finance

Saddle Raises $7.5M to Reduce Slippage in DeFi Trading

The automated market maker wants to minimize the spread on stablecoin trades.

saddle-defi

Finance

Polkadot DeFi Darling Acala Has Gathered Over $600M and Counting

Acala is likely to win the first Polkadot parachain slot in the auction process beginning Thursday.

One of the options DOT holders can vote on. (Polkadot)